Author Topic: Am I crazy to wake her up?  (Read 1555 times)

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Offline NikkiS

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Am I crazy to wake her up?
« on: January 23, 2006, 02:27:10 am »
HI.  My husband and I have had some almost heated discussions regarding the bedtime of our 3.5 mo dd.  She sometimes goes down for the night around 5:30 PM (which means her last feed is between 4-430) and I want to wake her up to feed her.  She is b/f and still waking several times even with a dreamfeed.  I feel as though she still needs some extra feedings if she goes down this early.  I also want to implement a bath as part of our bedtime routine which means waking her if she goes to bed this early.  My husband thinks I'm crazy.  She also tends to get up after the 4:30AM feeding which is driving us nutty because she gets more hysterical as we keep attempting to put her down.  So, I was thinking that if we let her catnap and then wake her for the nighttime routine that hopefully it becomes a habit and maybe that early morning feeding becomes closer to 7ish when I want to get up.  So, am I crazy to try to change her schedule?  We've always been on a modified easy.  Will I really disturb her if I only let her catnap then wake for nightime routine?  Any suggestions on how to go about this change?  Thanks so much!
Nikki
Mom to Emma 10-14-05


Offline HeatherC

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2006, 02:32:37 am »
Well, if you have her bedtime at 5:30 pm, you can expect and early morning.  Now, I've known many families with whom this suits them just fine.  However, if it's not what you'd like, there's no harm in changing it.  Am I correct that she goes to bed at 5:30, but then has a df?  And then eats in the night?  I agree that she needs at least one more feed, then the df.  I think you have a great idea to let this be her catnap.  What does the rest of your day look like?  I think you might have to do this gradually or you'll have a very unsettled baby on your hands.  However, it can be done.
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007

Offline Izzy-B's mommy

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2006, 02:36:41 am »
IMO I think the catnap would be the way to go.   Also,  a bedtime routine is so important to have.  Same time, same place same thing each night... 

Offline NikkiS

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2006, 19:10:06 pm »
We never really have a typical day because her naps are so inconsistent and always have been.  She's also been colicky and settling into sleep has always been an issue. However it's improving!  So, we hope to start the day around 7 and follow a 3 hour easy.  Her first nap is always great.  When she wakes early and attempts to put her back down are unsuccessful, we have a little activity time before easy.  If her naps have been short, her bedtime becomes that 5-6 time.  If she's napped well, she usually wakes for a bedtime around 7. Since she's b/f I probably need to keep clustering feeds but that means waking her at least once which we're scared to do.   SHe then either wakes for a feed around 930 but hopefully we catch her with the d/f.  Next feeds are kind of all over the place.  One being between 1200-200 am and another between 430-530am.  It's after this last feeding we have a hard time keeping her asleep. Another thing to factor is that she is a very gassy baby, so somewhere in our night we've been up for almost 1.5 hours trying to help her relieve some of that gas- although we keep it as mellow as possible.  Back to the night routine and my original question... how do we go about gently changing her schedule to get her up one more time for a feed/bath?  I don't want to unsettle her.  My husband hates the idea of waking her if she stays down at 5:30 especially if her naps have not been good.  But our early mornings are just terrible.  Any suggestions would be helpfull!
Nikki
Mom to Emma 10-14-05


Offline HeatherC

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2006, 01:59:59 am »
Have you tried gas drops?  I gave them to my dd before and after each feed when she was bf, and now since she's been on bottles I put a drop in the bottle. 
As for changing her routine...My dd took 30 min. naps for the 1st 6 mos of life.  Even if she did this 5 times a day, her bedtime and wake up time we the same (8-8).  Therefore, even though she's going to be cranky until she adjusts, you'll just have to bite the bullet and give it a try.  Do your best to extend her naps.  But like you said, if you can't, you'll just have more A time before the next feeding.  Then, if she's had a short nap, really watch her sleep cues and get her down for the next nap so that she won't be overtired.  Again, do your best to extend them if possible.  If you keep a consistent 3 hr feed schedule, I truly think you'll see things fall into place, and at least this way you'll have something to count on.  Then, when she goes down at 5:30, if this is her best nap, get her up in 1-1.5 hrs.  Try to keep her calm with some low key activity, bath, stories, then feed around 7, and in bed by 7:30.  Then, you can do the df at 10, and see where that gets you.  But, she is probably going to keep waking for the day at 5 am if she's going to bed at 5:30 pm.  IF you don't want to do it all at once, cut back on her sleep after 5:30 by 30 min increments.  For example, if she usually wakes at 9:30, wake her at 9, then the next day or two, at 8:30.   Also, the more feeds you can get into her between 7am and 10 pm (with the df), the quicker I think she'll drop the middle of the night feeds unless they become habitual, then that's another situation to work through.  Does any of this help?
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007

Offline NikkiS

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2006, 03:41:17 am »
Yes, this is very helpful.  Thank you for the tips on how to begin this change.  I'm really hoping it works!  We have tried gas drops ... I've read that gas drops work on air trapped inthe stomach not the intestines.  So, I'm trying to give them before feeding and trying to burp her more often after the feed.  Did I tell you we're also trying to switch her to bottles?  I didn't realize how much I'm changing all at once.  She seems to be doing okay, though.  We'll continue to work on the night time routine and extending her naps.  Wouldn't you know I had to wake her twice today because she was hitting a 2 hour nap both times (the nap in between these was only 30 min).  My husband still can't stand it that I wake her during the day.  But, isn't it better to try to keep naps/routines consistent on a daily basis?  I'm trying to have a predictable routine which is what the baby whisperer is all about.  If only husband understood!

Thank you thank you thank you for your input!  Nikki
Nikki
Mom to Emma 10-14-05


Offline HeatherC

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Re: Am I crazy to wake her up?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2006, 02:01:20 am »
Oh, yes, I got lots of grief for "waking a sleeping baby."  But I really feel it's important to set a guide for the day.  Now, that's not to say that there won't be times when you can let her sleep a little.  It sounds like you're on the right path.  I truly hope you get to the point your seeking.  Please keep us up to date.
Kelsey, Feb. 4, 2005
Landon, Jan. 2, 2007